Silencer construction for firearms.



. W. E. WBSTFALL. .SILENGBR CONSTRUCTION POR FIREARMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1914.

Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

Llll.

WALTER E. WESTFALL, OIF MARYVILLE, MISSOURI.

SILENCER CONSTRUCTION FOR FIREARMS.

specificati@ of Letters raient.

Application filed May 7, 1s14. serial No. 836,989.

Y To all wz'o-m it muy concern:

Be it known that I, vWAIfrnR E. VVESTFALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Maryville, in the county of Nodaway and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Silencer Construction for Firearms, of which the follow,- ing-is a specification.

This invention relates to irearms, and has special reference to a novel construction which silences .the usual report incident to the explosion of the cartridge or shell.

The chief objection to many silencerv constructions, especially7 those in the form of an attachment, is that they obstructv the line of vision between the sights, and for this reason it is necessary to employ special sight devices which notonly-increase the. cost of the firearm, but must necessarily be larger than ordinary sights, thereby making the Weapon unwieldly and hard to handle. Furthermore, silencer attachments which are .lixed to the muzzle end of the barrel make the gun unsightly, and also have` other objections which the present construction aims to overcome.

Accordingly, the present invention has in view as its principal object the provision of a novel construction of silencer which may be built in with the firearm so that to all outward appearances, the gun is of ordinary construction. j

Another object of the invention is yto provide a simple and durable device of this y character having but few inexpensiveparts whose particular arrangement is such that they may be readily assembled to constltute a silencer that effectively mulhes thefreport of the explosion so that no noise is discern-y ible other than a slight Whistle or whir due to the exit of the projectile and the exhaust of spent gases.

`With the above and other objects in View which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel constructlon, combination and arrangement of parts herein-V after more fully described, illustrated and.

claimed., j

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the panying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional, view showing the application of 'the invention,

l F ig. 2 is a detail `perspective view, showing a half section of the check valve. .l F ig. 3 is a cross sectional View on the line 3 3l of Fig. 1 drawn to a larger scale.- Figi't. is an enlarged detail sectional view'showing a Infdiication of the invention.

`jimilar referencev characters designate corratemed sept. 2e, 1914. Y

responding parts throughout the several igures of the drawings.

v In 1carrying out the invention it is preferable to employ a n barrel of special construction, though 1t `will of .course be understood that many gun barrels now in common use can be readily adapted tothe present invention. 1

By reference to Fig. l it will be observed that une numeral 1 designates a gun barrel which is formed at its breech end with. an.

annular enlargement 2, which is rpreferably externally threaded as at 3 and adapted to receive the interio-rly threaded end 4 ofl a silencer casing designated in.` its entirety by the reference character 5. The said silencer casing 5 is preferably in the form of a cylindrical tube which is longe-r than the gun barrel 1, andvhas its exhaust end 6 interiorly threaded similar to the end 4l.y

l, When the end 4 of the silencer casing has I 1 been screwed onto the enlargement 2 of the gun barrel, both members are ready for positioning in the gun stock ydesignated in its entirety bythe reference character S, and

because of the enlargement atthe breech end of the gun barrel, the external wall of the latter is spaced from the inner wall of thesilencer casing to provide agas chamber C,

as 'clearly shown in Fig. 1. `In order to maintain the proper relation of the assembled parts and render the rearm absolutely accurate, this particular arrangement makes it necessaryto support and center the muzzle end of the gun barrel l, and to this end there is provided a removable and replaceable cylindrical spacingsleeve 7 designed to fit snugly within the silencer casing and having at one end a pluralityl of radially projecting arms 8 that are connected with a collar 9 which receives the muzzle end of the barrel l. Theradial arms 8 and collar 9 carried by the spacing/sleeve 7 form a barrel centering spider which supports the muze zle end of the barrel, and at the same time permitscommunication between the chamber Cpformed around the body oil-'the gun bar-rel.' andan initial gas-arresting chamber 1 jl) formed by the spacing sleeve7. The endv 'fof the' spacing sleeve. 7 opposite that having @the barrel centering spider is preferably v'formed with an inturned abutment iiange" 10 which constitutesV a s eat and stop for a slidingcheck 'valve 11. This sliding check.

' opening .15 which are in alinement with similar openings 16 in the end caps 13. For the purpose of holding'the check valve 11 against the abutment flange 10 of the spacing sleeve, there is provided ta resetting spring 17 which is arranged wlthin the silencer-.casing so-that one end thereof bears against one of the end caps 13 of the check valve, whilethe other endabuts against' the inner wall of an end plug 18 screwed into ,they exhaust end 6 of the silencer casing.

vThis end plug 18 is preferably hollow to provide an air chamber 19 while its end Walls are provided with concentric openings 20which are in alinement with the openings 15 and 16 of the check valve, which in turnv are in direct alinement with the bore of the gun barrel 1. p

By reference to the manner of assembling the 'structure described, it will be noted that .the arrangementof parts is such that this operation may be expeditiously accomplish'ed. That is to say, the silencer casing may 'be readily screwed onto the breech end of thevgun barrel, while the muzzle end of the latter; is4 firmly supported by the spider on the spacing slefe 7 which may be easily pushed intok the open endv6 o f the silencer casing, and then the check valve may be placed in position with the resetting spring fto' hold it against the seat formed by the spacing flange, and the chambered end plug screwed into the end 6 of the silencer casing 4to hold all of the parts in their assembled relation. Iny addition to providing an easy method of'assembling, this construction also makes it easy -to replace or repair damaged parts.

By particular reference to Fig. 4, it will be noted that a modified silencer construc-' y tion is shown. In carrying out this form of the invention, the same type of silencer casing is used as shown in Fig. 1, vthe same being designated by the reference character 5, While the gun barrel 1 assumes the same relation to the silencer casing in this form as it does in the other. Y.

In the formof the invention shown in turn' ofthe check valve 11 toits seat against the end ofthe spacing sleeve by the action of the resetting spring, a noticeable click is heard dueto the contact of the end cap with the inturned abutment flange of the said spacing sleeve. In order to overcome this objection, .the spacing sleevev is done away with in the modificationv shown in Fig. 4, and. in its place is substituted a recoil or shock absorbing spring 21. The 'said s 'ring 21 is confined between acenteringspi er 22 and 'a check, valve 23, so that m effect a chamber Eis formed in the same manner as the chamber D of Fig. 1.

In the present instance, the centering spider 22 includes a body 'portion in the form of a 4ring 24' which snugly fits against the inner wall of the-silencer casing, and has radially disposed arms 8 whichsupport a collar 9a which has the same function as the collar 9 in the other forrnof the invention. A. resetting spring 17a is also employed in this construction to return` the check valve 23 to its normal position, and4 permit it to yield upon the impact of the vdischarge of the cartridge or shell,y` While the chambered end plug 18HL is used to form an abutment for one end of the spring 17,

to `enable it to exercise its resetting function. In connection with the end plug'18, it will be observed that the only substantial difference between the same andthe end plug 18, is that the former is yprovided with ay peripheral cap flange 2,5, andhas its inner wall 26 formed with a conical portion 27 whose apex is open. 4 y

The check valve 2 3 comprises a cylindical valve casing 26 which is preferably of smaller diameter than the silencer casing and interiorly threaded at each end as indicated at 27. This vcasing 26 is .designed to accommodate a plurality of removable and replaceable baffle members 28. Each ofthe said baffle members 28 are substantially cup shaped and include side walls 29 andbottom walls 30 which are formed with conical portions 31 which are cut away to provide open-` ings 32. These baffle members 28 are arranged Within the casing 26 so that their conical portions 31 open toward the muzzle of the gunbarrel 1. I In other words, lthese cup-like members 28 are arranged Isothat the conical portion ofone member projects into the chamber formed lby the side and botto-m Walls of an adjacent member, and the outer faces of the conical portions 31 form delecting surfaces for the exhausting gases. For the purpose of holding the bafile members 28 within the casing' 26 there is provided a holding cap member 33 for each end of the valve casing. Each of these cap members 33 has a threaded neck 34 which permits the sameto be screwed into the threaded portions 27 of the` valve casing,

and also has a bearing flange 35 which abuts against the edge of the valve casing 26 while the peripheral edge thereof slidably engages the'l interior of the silencer casing to Y form a gas tight joint. Each of the caps 33 is provided with 'a centrally depressed vopen end conical portion 36 which is disposed in the same direction as similar portions 3l of the .baille members 28. Thus, it will be apparent that the reversesides of the conical portions 31 and 3G Vwill'effectively impede the exit of the exploded gases, inasmuch as the same will be held within the pockets formed by the cupped battle members, even more so than in the other construction of valve member. In this form of the invention it will be apparent that the check valve is mounted between two springs which tend to maintain the same in its normal position. The recoil spring 21 prevents the Valve from striking a solid seat and making a noise, and at the same time helps to equalize generally the force of the shock.

Upon the explosion of a cartridge or shell in the gun barrel l, the smoke and vgases issuing from the muzzle of the latter, Will be first received by a chamber formed between the barrel centering spider and the end of 2 the check valve, in both forms of the invention. The gases will also be permitted to expand rearwardly into a chamber around the gun barrel, and will also try to make their exit through the mouthof the silencer, but in pursuing this course will encounter the check valve and chambered end plug. This is also true or both forms of the invention, so that it will be apparent that in each instance the impact of the explosion will be received by a yielding check valve which will'tend to check the exit of gases through the mouth of the silencer and tend to deflect a portion of the same back into a chamber formed around the gun barrel. The present construction effectively provides for equalizing the shock of the explosion throughout the weapon, while at the same time muilling the sound thereof without impeding the accuracy or hindering the exit of the projectile from the firearm.

l claim:

l. A gun silencer construction, including in combination with a gun barrel, a tubular silencer casino' telescoping with said gun barrel and spaced therefrom to form an annular chamber, and yielding check means arranged in said casing in front of the muzzle of the gun and adapted to deflect ex hausting gases into the said annular chamber.

2. A gun silencer construction, including in combination with a gun barrel, a silencer casing entirely surrounding said barrel and spaced therefrom to provide a chamber extending from the breech end to the muzzle,

and a check valve unit yieldingly held becasing, a check valve slidably :arrangedv between the muzzle of the gun barrel and saidA end plug, and spring means for maintaining the check valve in its normal position.

4l. A gun silencer construction including in combination with a gun barrel, a silencer casing interiorly threaded at each end, a chambered end plug having a central opening screwed into one end of said casing, while the opposite end -receives said gun barrel, means for centering and supporting the muzzle end of the gun barrel Within the casing, a check valve provided with a plurality of interior baiile members and a central longitudinal passage, said check valve slidably arranged between the muzzle of said gun barrel and the end plug, and spring end plug to maintain the former in its normal position.

5. A gun silencer' construction including a gun barrel having a threaded enlargement at its breech end, a silencer casing interiorly threaded at each end and having one end' threaded to the threaded enlargement of the gun barrel, a chambered plug having openings secured withi-n the other threaded end of the silencer casing, means Within said casing for centering and supporting the muzzle of the gun barrel to hold the latter in spaced relation to the casing to provide a chamber, check means also having a central opening interposed between the muzzle of the gun barrel and the end plug and adapted to deflect exhausting gases into the chamber around the gun barrel, and spring means for maintaining the check valve in position.

6. A gun silencer construction including in combination with a gun barrel, a silencer casing fitted thereto and spaced therefrom to provide a chamber between the barrel and the casing, said casing also extending beyond the muzzle of the barrel, a check valve arranged in said casing before the muzzle of the gun barrel, means for spacing the check valve from the muzzle of the gun to provide an initial gasarresting chamber in communication with the chamber around the gun barrel, and spring means for maintaining the check valve in normal position.

7. A gun silencer construction including in combination with a gun barrel, a silencer casing tted thereto and spaced therefroml gun barrel, and spring means for maintain- 10 to provide a chamber around the barrel, ino the check Valve in normal position.l

said casing also extending beyond the muzzle tn testimony whereof I hereunto affix my of the barl'rekl), mens ign clnterling and supsignature in the presence of tWo Witnesses. portin t e arrewit int esi eneer Casin a chec Valve Within said casing, means z WALTER E' WESTFALL' spacing said valve from the`centering and Witnesses: supporting means to form a chamber which. GEO. T. ELLIsoN,

communicates with the chamber aroundl the KATHERN MERRIGAN.

Copies of this patentmay be obtained'for five cents each, by addressing the Commissionerof `atents,

' Washington, D. C. 

